


Get Better Soon

by Shawarma (McDanno50)



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Multi, Pre-Slash, Team as Family, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-01-16
Packaged: 2017-11-25 07:24:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McDanno50/pseuds/Shawarma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Humanoids attack the city and the Avengers battle it out. But when things go wrong, and their leader falls, what will become of them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get Better Soon

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own 'The Avengers', the characters and general plot of the movie/comics all belong to their respectful owners. It was not my intention to offend anyone by the writing of this story. This multi-chapter story is Unbeta'd so please forgive any mistakes you may read.
> 
> So the title and summary are a little lacking compared to my other works but I'm just too excited to dive into the Avengers fandom to worry about such trivial things. I hope you all enjoy.

He didn’t know what happened which was surprising considering his impressive memory. One minute he had been flying around firing away at the enemy of the week, and the next JARVIS was alerting him to an unknown system failure. This was how Tony found himself trying to slow his inevitable fall to the ground but ultimately failing. He landed hard, skidding across the pavement a few times, the sound of his suit scraping loudly across the loose gravel. He’s fallen before but it doesn’t get any easier especially when landing on his stomach, arms scrabbling uselessly as his faceplate slams into the ground before coming to a stop.

“Ouch,” he said lamely. He tried not to move so the world would stop spinning.

He heard rushed footsteps before the shout of his name.

“Tony! Hey, Tony, are you alright?” Steve’s voice sounded frantic as he pressed the release button behind Tony’s metal helmet, taking the thing off with a hiss.

He looked around, mindful of any head injuries he might’ve sustained. They were by the water that much he could tell and thank God he didn’t land in the murky depths during a weird system failure. He’s pretty sure he would’ve drowned long before anyone could’ve gotten to him. And isn’t that just depressing?

“Stark! Answer me.”

“Yeah I’m good Cap,” Tony said to his teammate belatedly. “JARVIS!”

A crackle of static could be heard before his AI answered. _“Sir?”_

“Run diagnostics and start from the boots up.”

 _“Right away sir,”_ was the British robotic reply.

Tony focused back on the captain who was standing approximately seven or eight feet away, battling it out with numerous baddies. He tried to get up and offer some Iron Man assistance but the fall took a lot more out of him then he would’ve liked to admit. It also didn’t help that his armor was now just an expensive paper weight until JARVIS could figure out what the hell went wrong.

He watched from his place on the ground as Captain America threw punches, landed kicks, and tossed his shield into numerous enemies. What pissed Tony off the most was that these guys were mostly human or at least they started off human. A new terrorist group had decided to do some very illegal testing on undeterminably willing people. The test subjects had been transformed into something else entirely: half machine and all deadly. They were strong and didn’t break easily, minds too far gone to be saved in the Avengers’ opinion, so now they were being eliminated. Easier said than done of course because the metal used in their bodies and weapons were an even denser material than Tony’s armor.

“On your six!” Tony yelled. He watched in unbridled awe as the captain swung around and used his shield as an extension of his fist as he punched the humanoid in the gut. He always knew that Captain America was an exceptional fighter but he’d never had a chance to see it up close without doing some fighting of his own.

More humanoids were closing in and Tony was struggling to his feet. “JARVIS, I need some help here.”

_“Diagnostics are incomplete however I can tell you sir that whatever pierced the armor of the suit has unleashed a virus into the system.”_

“How bad are we talking here buddy?” He replied through gritted teeth.

_“It appears the virus effects mobility and weaponry despite power levels reading high; much like a dam blocking the necessary responses.”_

Tony growled. It irked him to no end that someone managed to hack his system. Obviously whoever did so wasn’t smart enough to figure a way to cut off the suit’s power entirely.

“I’m a sitting duck here Cap!” Tony called out. There was a grunt from somewhere behind him and a humanoid landed close to his feet.

“I’ve noticed,” Steve replied after a swish of his wrist sent his shield flying.

Tony was pleasantly surprised. “Is that _sarcasm_ I hear in your voice? Fury is going to be so– Look out!”

A humanoid off to Steve’s left hefted a gun, or at least what Tony thought was a gun, and sent out a blast. A moment later and Steve’s left arm was ensnared by a thick cable which didn’t seem to be yielding to Steve’s super-soldier strength. Tony watched as his teammate struggled with the cable, finally opting to pull on it. The humanoid held tight, digging the heels of her metal boots into the asphalt with an ominous locking sound.

“Steve, get out of there!” Tony shouted as three other humanoids stepped out from behind abandoned cars.

It all happened rather slowly from there. Tony was shouting into his earpiece for some damn backup. He tried to provide the basics to the team while watching one of the humanoids fire another cable gun at the captain. The strong metallic wire latched onto Steve’s right arm and the humanoid tugged; Steve was stretched to his limits, arms extended with legs spread shoulder width apart. A part of Tony had to admire Steve’s chiseled physique as the man clenched his fists around the cable and gave a tug of his own. The muscles in his arms and shoulders bulged, the image obscene under the blue leather. Tony worried the man might pull something because the material just didn’t seem to be breakable.

“Someone get the fuck over here _now!" _Tony yelled into his earpiece.__

The coms crackled before Hawkeye responded. _“Hulk is closest to your location but I’m on route; ETA four minutes.”_

He was struggling to his feet, trying to assist his friend, because it didn’t look like help was coming fast enough for Iron Man and Captain America.

A blast sounded and Tony turned his head in time to see another humanoid holding a snare gun. His eyes followed the cable where it was wrapped around Steve’s right leg. The humanoid locked his metal feet into the ground and gave a quick jerk of the gun. Tony watched in horror as Captain America fell awkwardly to his knees, cowl-covered head lowered in something like defeat. His star and striped chest was heaving and Tony could swear he heard the man’s heart beating a wild rhythm, or maybe it was his own. He could hear citizens crying in the distance, obviously terrified at the prospect of Captain America in serious trouble. And he was in serious trouble, Tony noted, as a humanoid walked up to the star-spangled man holding a five inch blade.

Tony finally got to his feet, swaying as the weight of the suit threatened to deny him. “Hey!” he yelled. “I’m wide open douche bags!”

The metal baddies glared but made no move to attack him. Frankly, Tony was insulted at their lack of regard for him. He definitely wasn’t a threat to them in their screwed up opinion.

The leader of the small pack of humanoids, the one who carried the sinister looking blade, pointed at Tony with a metal finger and sneered. “Make him watch.”

Tony blinked, once, twice, and then he was forced to his knees once more before a hard kick to his back made him kiss the ground. His unprotected face collided with the concrete and made him see stars not too dissimilar from the one on Steve’s chest. He tried to get his arms under him, to push himself up, if he could only-

“Captain America, this is an honor.” Lead baddie said.

Tony stopped fighting the metal foot on his back. Barton was coming, he would help, and all Tony had to do was find a way to delay things a bit.

“Oh God, don’t tell me, you want him to sign your trading cards. Or wait! You have a life-size plushy to keep you company at night?” Tony taunted and sneered like the asshole he was before the whole Iron Man gig.

A snap of the humanoid’s fingers and one of his cronies lifted Tony into the air and dropped him down again. The impact knocked the air out of his lungs; a few ribs were definitely damaged in one way or another. Luckily he managed to keep his face from smacking the concrete again. Small mercies he supposed even if the action made him gasp with every new breath.

“That’s enough!” Steve yelled. “Leave him out of this.”

“You’re right. Why waste my time?”

Tony watched on from his place on the ground as the humanoid walked around Steve slowly. It was like watching a wolf circling his wounded prey and it made Tony sick. The leader stopped behind the captain, smirking as he ripped the cowl from Steve’s head. He leaned down close to the captain’s ear, murmured something Tony could not hear, before the two looked over at Tony and smiled. He didn’t like those smiles. The grin on the humanoid’s face was savage while the small smile that donned Steve’s lips was so terribly sad. But there was something else on Steve’s face. Tony would almost call it pride. But what could the captain possibly be proud of at a moment like this?

He opened his mouth to ask but the humanoid’s sudden change of position, kneeling behind the captain, silenced him. He knew what was going to happen before it did. So when the five-inch blade Tony had nearly forgotten about plunged into Steve’s back with a sickening sound, Tony screamed. He yelled, cursed, and thrashed about to no avail. He wasn’t going anywhere with the metallic foot planted firmly between his shoulder blades.

And so he watched. He watched as the knife twisted this way and that. He watched as the blood dripped down the handle following the path of the humanoid’s metal-twisted arm. He watched as his best friend’s mouth opened in a silent scream, blonde head thrown back in agony.

It only lasted seconds but it felt like centuries to Tony. Somewhere in the back of his mind told him he was still screaming, crying out with Steve as the blade was removed in one swift movement.

His eyes stayed on Steve’s but his voice and his anger was directed solely at the lead humanoid. “You’re going to die,” he said quietly. “Very badly.”

The humanoids threw their heads back and laughed. Their laughter didn’t last long. Between one blink and the next an arrow had embedded itself in every humanoid. Each nock had a flashing red light so Tony knew to shield his eyes as the explosive arrows began to detonate three seconds after landing. The sound of their short-lived screams were nothing compared to the satisfaction Tony felt as body parts, metal and human alike, rained down around him.

“JARVIS!” His voice was hoarse from screaming. “Initiate evacuation protocol five. Passcode: Alpha-Echo-Sierra.”

The AI didn’t reply but the Iron Man armor began to fall away like dead skin. Tony was fully aware that the evac-program he had installed was built to be fast but not particularly efficient. This was a one-time deal; the suit couldn’t be used after protocol was complete.

He was scrambling up to his feet before the last piece of armor clunked to the ground. Steve wasn’t moving, face down several feet away amidst still smoking body parts. Tony stumbled a few times in his desperate attempt to get to his friend. His injuries weren’t helping and the shock at seeing Captain America, a man so full of life now so utterly still, made him dizzy and nauseous. He skidded to a stop and dropped to his knees next to America’s national icon. He didn’t care that he was too old to be kneeling like this or that his reputation would be ruined by the tears running unchecked down his face. All that mattered was Steve.

Steve who was somehow still breathing as Tony carefully turned him over. Little cuts adorned his skin from the explosion and the subsequent face plant he couldn’t stop with the heavy cables still impeding him. Tony cradled the larger man as gently as he could; the captain flinched anyway.

“Hey,” Steve whispered. Even at a time like this the man was still smiling.

Tony tried to smile back. It felt like his face was melting with all the sweat and tears mixing freely on his cheeks. He worked to remove the cables made useless by the humanoids’ deaths all the while keeping one eye on Steve. “Don’t try to talk, alright? Help is on the way.”

He didn’t actually know if help was on the way but Tony had the utmost confidence in the Avengers and the SHIELD agents assisting them.

Steve turned his head away to cough. Crimson stained his lips when he finished.

“It’s g-going–” A pained gasp. “It’s going to b–” Another cough. More blood. “Be okay, Tony.”

Tony tried to laugh but it came out a little hysterical. The man in his arms was dying yet his only concern was to reassure his worried teammate.

“Of course it is,” he replied with all the confidence he could muster at the moment. “You’re Captain America, my hero.”

Steve rolled his eyes and smiled. It was a beautiful smile; one that was at peace.

Tony didn’t like it. He leaned down to touch his forehead to Steve’s to tell him so, shaking the man in the process. “Please Steve, don’t do this to me.”

A clammy hand on his wet cheek told him to open his eyes. What he saw made him cry harder. Steve’s lids were heavy with equal parts regret and exhaustion as a bloody thumb stroked Tony’s cheekbone. The sounds in the distance, the voices in his earpiece, his own heartbeat had fallen silent to the wispy breathing belonging to the super-soldier in his arms.

“I’m okay.” Steve said through gritted teeth. He was trying to hide the pain. “It’s okay. You’re a…” Cough then blood. “…good man Tony Stark.”

Tony was already shaking his head. “No. No I’m not, but I’m getting better so you need to stay. Alright? Stay with me because you make me _better.”_

He felt Steve’s hand begin to slip away but he held it there with his own, pressed against his cheek even as tears threatened to drown them. He waited for Steve’s reply only to be disappointed as the man’s eyes began to slip shut. They didn’t open even as Tony shook him.

“Hey! Steve! Don’t do this Steve. Don’t you fucking die on me!” He was close to hysterics now, crying and yelling at a man who wouldn’t respond.

A shadow loomed over him before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You need to let him go Tony.” It was Clint.

He finally looked up, fully prepared to tell the man to go to Hell. He saw the archer looking as heartbroken as Tony felt. A medical team wearing SHIELD gear was standing behind him, ready to take over as soon as Tony let Steve go. His arms felt like stone wrapped around the soldier and it took all of his willpower to hand the captain over to the professionals. He fell back on his ass seconds later only to have Clint haul him to his feet. A bare arm wrapped around his shaking shoulders to steady him as well as offer some sort of comfort. His eyes never left Steve’s motionless body as the med team loaded him up in the ambulance and drove away.

**Author's Note:**

> Questions/comments/concerns? Heh. I'm a sucker for cliffys, but have no fear readers! The next chapter will be up soon.


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